Ticket sales for Messi match yet to pick up

Published: Saturday, August 27, 2011, 0:00 [IST]

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Kolkata, Aug 27: It is exactly a week to go for the International friendly between Argentina and Venezuela in Yuba Bharati Krirangan here but the ticket sales for the star-studded match involving Lionel Messi is yet to pick up.

As per the figures, less than 50 per cent of the tickets up for sale (100,000) have been sold but the exclusive rights holders of the FIFA-approved match, Celebrity Management Group, are confident of pulling off a successful match. [Read: Messi likely to arrive on Wednesday wee hrs]

About 35,000 tickets have been sold as of now but it''s not at all alarming, CMG executive director Bhaswar Goswami said.

"Tickets of denominations Rs 700, Rs 3590 and Rs 2570 were sold out. The demand is increasing day by day. I''ve only left with about 200 tickets of Rs 1000," Goswami told PTI.

The prices of the tickets for the much-hyped September 2 match range from Rs 700 to Rs 5120 and it''s too high for a common football-loving spectator in Kolkata, feels state Sports minister Madan Mitra.

Incidentally, the base-price tickets were sold out soon after the booking began, though the major chunk of the tickets in the high range are left to be sold.

"I had requested the organisers to lower the ticket prices to make it affordable to all. They heeded my request and released some low priced tickets for school children and players and some limited ones at Rs 700 for general public.

Also, there are no free or complimentary tickets as they are looking to recover their money from gate sales," Mitra said.